Dolphin found dead farthest north ever in Louisiana

BATON ROUGE, LA — The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is attempting to retrieve the carcass of a dolphin that was discovered around the Old Mississippi River Bridge yesterday.

Although most dolphins live in shallow, tropical temperate oceans, there are five species of dolphins that live in rivers. However, LDWF says this is the farthest north they have seen a dolphin wash ashore and are unsure of why it would have traveled this far.

A crew working around the bridge spotted the dolphin on Monday, Oct. 1 and reported it to officials. A crew with Wildlife and Fisheries attempted to recover the dolphin, but were unable to do so due to “unfavorable weather conditions.”

“LDWF staff will attempt to recover the carcass again today by boat,” Ashley Wethey, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, said. “A cause of death cannot be determined until the carcass is sampled and possibly brought in for testing and necropsy.”

Once the dolphin is tested they will have a better understanding as to how and why it ended up in this location.